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P resident’s Column
Teachers’ Professionalism: a legacy worth defending
After years of
lobbying, in 1972, the government lengthened the school year by 5
non-instructional days to provide for teachers’ professional
development. Since then, there has been something of a continuing
tug-of-war between teachers with their union and the employer and its
managers, about how these days will be most appropriately utilized.
Nearly 40 years on,
almost all of the teachers who might be in a position to remember the
arrival of “Pro-D.” days have retired. Those of us who remain have
inherited this solid foundation for teachers’ professionalism, but
beyond this we have also inherited the responsibility to ensure that
this foundation is built upon, not diminished, sublimated, eroded,
chipped away, or otherwise lost. All teachers, through their actions,
need to ensure a worthwhile legacy for future generations.
As historical
narratives go, the ongoing struggle between teachers’ ownership of their
professional development and the employer’s desire to manage what
teachers do through staff development programs is perhaps not the most
compelling; but it does deserve the full attention of new, experienced,
mid-career and senior teachers’ alike. All teachers need to address the
many issues and problems which confront them in their daily practice,
first among them being the question of whether or not we are employees
or professionals. In fulfilling the day-to-day duties in the workplace,
is our work circumscribed and delimited by the job, or are we free,
autonomous agents, who continually strive to improve their practice in
support of a more abstract concept, that of
education.
Any teacher who has ever taken work home with them has already begun to
answer that question.
The Members’ Guide
to the BCTF is an excellent resource for teachers interested in
advancing the cause of teacher professionalism. Available online, its
treatment of Professional Development serves as a worthwhile starting
point for teachers wanting to push back against the many encroachments
against their professionalism.
Delta Teachers' Association
210 - 5000 Bridge Street, Delta, BC V4K 2K4
604 946 0391
email - deltateachers@telus.net
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